Georgia Authors Vocabulary

prior knowledgeDefinition

Preexisting attitudes, experiences, and

knowledge on a topic or event.

Example

Dogs love treats.

tone

Definition

Writer’s attitude toward his or her subject and

audience.

Example

The girls were playing in the pond, splashing each other and trying to catch fish. They kept looking over their shoulders at the forest. They felt like someone was watching them. They thought about going back inside, but decided to stay and play with caution.

Point of View

DefinitionThe perspective or vantage point from

which a story is told (1st person: I; 3rd person:

he, she, we)

Example

I was born in Canada.

She was born in Maine.

mood

Definition

The feeling created in a reader by a literary work or passage.

Example

During the holidays my mother’s house glittered with decorations and hummed with preparations. We ate cookies, shared stories and teased each other.

symbolism

Definition

Use of symbols (symbols usually represent something else)

Example

Dove holding olive branch = peace

personification

Definition

Type of figurative language where a

nonhuman object is given human

characteristics.

ExampleThe grass was dancing.

The sun kissed the flowers.

hyperbole

Definition

Exaggeration often used for emphasis.

Example• I could eat a horse.• He is older than the

hills.

idiom

DefinitionAn expression where the

literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the

expression.

ExampleIt is raining cats & dogs.

metaphor

Definition

A direct comparison of two unlike things.

It does not use like or as.

Example

“His voice was a bass drum echoing

throughout the car.”

simile

DefinitionFigure of speech that uses

“like” or “as” to make a direct comparison of

two unlike ideas.

Example

Busy as a bee.

irony

Definition

A contradiction between what happens and what is expected to

happen.

Example

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.

-The Mariner

Situational irony

Definition

Occurs when something happens that directly

contradicts the expectations of the characters or the

audience.

Example

A character goes to read to his grandmother in the nursing home to

make her happy; however, he soon

realizes that it makes him happy too.

Dramatic irony

Definition

The audience is aware of something that the

character or speaker is not .

Example

In Romeo & Juliet the other characters think that Juliet is dead but the audience knows that she has taken a

sleeping potion.

Verbal irony

Definition

Something contradictory that is said

Example

When it is raining outside & someone says,

“What a beautiful day.”

sarcasm

Definition

Mocking, sharp ironical taunt

Example

Arriving 15 minutes late for an appointment & the other person says:

“Oh, you’re right on time.”